Under physiologic conditions, significant amounts of plasma protein pass the renal filter and are reabsorbed by proximal tubular cells, but it is not clear whether the endocytosed protein, particularly albumin, is degraded in lysosomes or returned to the circulatory system intact. To resolve this question, a transgenic mouse with podocyte-specific expression of doxycycline-inducible tagged murine albumin was developed. To assess potential glomerular backfiltration, two types of albumin with different charges were expressed...

Albumin is the main protein of blood plasma, lymph, cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial fluid. The protein assists in many important body functions, including maintenance of proper colloidal osmotic pressure, transport of important metabolites and antioxidant action. Synthesis of albumin takes place mainly in the liver, and its catabolism occurs mostly in vascular endothelium of muscle, skin and liver as well as in the kidney tubular epithelium. Renal catabolism of albumin consists of glomerular filtration and tubular reabsorption...

Endocytosis constitutes an essential process in the regulation of the expression of cell surface molecules and receptors and, therefore, could participate in the neural-glial interactions occurring during brain development. However, the relationship between endocytic pathways in astroglial cells under physiological and pathological conditions remains poorly understood. We analyzed the endocytosis and transcytosis processes in growing astrocytes and the possible effect of ethanol on these processes. Evidence demonstrates that ethanol affects endocytosis in the liver and we showed that ethanol exposure during brain development alters astroglial development changing plasma membrane receptors and surface glycoprotein composition...